Operation Spot Fly

Less than three weeks ago a participant on Friday morning emailed to say she thought she had a Spotted Flycatcher nest in her garden, and would I like to come and check it out.  In the early 1980s I wouldn't have considered this as anything unusual, as at that time we had at least 2 pairs nesting in the cemetery every summer.  However, we never see them twisting after insects anymore from our headstones.  The other Autumn a couple passed through our garden on their migration to Africa, but they were only with us for a couple of hours.  Spotted Flycatchers aren't very colourful birds, but their confiding nature, and amazing hunting sorties as they twist and turn in flight after specific insect prey are marvellous to behold.  They may be LBJs (Little Brown Jobs), but they are incredibly charismatic.

Spotted Flycatcher - one of the parents

On 26th February I travelled to a beautiful garden setting near Patrington to have a look.  Sure enough there was a Spotted Flycatcher in the garden.  I waited until the adult flew well away from the nest, and had a quick look.  The chicks must have hatched only minutes earlier, as I could see at least 2 chicks both with eggshells still attached to their rear ends.

Recently-hatched chicks and eggshells

 Parent

 Remosal of a faecal sack

Elizabeth had only ever spotted one adult at a time, but both came in and brought food for their nestlings.  On the final day of July I returned with my nephew, and the chicks had grown considerably, and this time it was clear that there were three inhabitants in the nest.  Both parents arrived with rather large insects in their bills, including green bottle flies, and Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies. 

Bringing in a Small Tortoiseshell

 Brooding

 Parent

 2 Young Begging for Food - 4 days old

 Young

 Resting

I was in the East Midlands the following Thursday, when I checked my emails at lunch time to see another message stating that the 3 chicks would be fledging very soon.  The following morning Elizabeth rang to say all three chicks had fledged, but I would be welcome to see if I could locate any fledglings in her garden. 

The Day Before fledgling (c) 2013 Elizabeth Woollias

 Ditto

Alert Adult - now the young have fledged

 About to Hunt

Ben and I travelled to Patrington again, and we were immediately met with an adult Spotted Flycatcher making a two-syllable   alarm call on next door's TV aerial.  The nest was clearly empty, and although single syllable calls could be heard from various areas of the gardens only the parents could be seen.  We waited patiently for a while, and the adults were seen catching insects, but there was no sign of the young.  Half an hour later I noticed a very spotty bundle of fluff in some clematis near the nest.  A chick had returned to its natal area, and was calling to be fed.  I quickly took a few pictures, and then retreated so its parents could locate the bird and continue to feed it.  There were plenty of White butterflies on the lavender, so I hope they discovered them to feed their hungry & growing youngsters.  

 Fledgling

 Fledgling

 Fledgling

 Empty Nest Syndrome

Thanks very much to Elizabeth for permitting myself and Ben the privilege to watch these charismatic birds at close quarters.

An Estuarine Odyssey

On Tuesday I took my nephew to RSPB Blacktoft Sands to try & make the most of the early returning waders in remnants of breeding plumage.  Unfortunately, the web had given us the wrong time for high tide, so I should have consulted my booklet instead.  Although we missed the high tide, we saw a couple of distant waders at Marshland hide.  We also heard Bearded Tits and saw the movements of young Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers.  We'd been there for quite some time when very luckily two Wood Sandpipers alighted directly under the hide, and we were able to observe all the details of their delicate plumage.  Once they'd moved out of sight, this seemed the perfect time to leave, as we wouldn't strike that lucky in that hide for probably hours to come!

Wood Sandpiper

 Wood Sandpipers

 Wood Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Sedge Warbler between Visitor centre & Xerox

 Ditto

 Snipe from Townend

 Green Sandpiper at Singleton

 Little Egrets & Herons at Singleton

 Spotted Redshanks & Ruff

 Record Shot of Distant Ruff

 Berries at Saltmarshe

 Comma & Wasp at Saltmarshe

 Comma at Saltmarshe

 Great Crested Grebes at Eastrington

 Great Crested Grebes at Eastrington

 Great Crested Grebes at Eastrington

 Car Swarming with Wasps at North Cave

Thriving with Life & Colour

On the first Saturday of every month Richard Hampshire leads a warden's walk around Tophill Low to make the most of the wildlife currently on display.  

At other times of the year there are plenty of birds to be seen, but early August isn't the peak time for masses of interesting birds.  I promised Ben Grass Snakes, but continual unbearable heat means that the conditions this weekend weren't the best to see those either.   At the moment it is quite warm enough for them not to need to bask in the warming rays of the sun.  

Despite these setbacks there were plenty of colourful flowers and butterflies to see.  To make the most of the available wildlife Richard decided on a southerly route.

Peacock

Someone spotted a hairy caterpillar attempting to cross the road near South Lagoon, so Richard rescued it, and placed it out of harm's way among the vegetation.  The closest match in my caterpillar book seems to be Water Ermine, but it is not supposed to be found this far north!  Perhaps a White Ermine is more likely?

Water/White? Ermine Moth Caterpillar

 Water/White? Ermine Moth Caterpillar

There was a riot of colour around O Reservoir with Fleabane, various umbellifers, including Yarrow, and a couple of species of Knapweed and Thistles.  The Burdock was also coming into flower.  All these flowers attracted the nectarine insects, which included Soldier Beetles, Small Skippers, Meadow Browns, Large Whites, and a few Damselflies and Dragonflies.  A few Silver-Y Moths, always on the move were also to be found in the long grass.

Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar [aka Hull City Supporter]

 Silver-Y Moth

We were nearly halfway round the reservoir when I spotted 3 waders dropping into South Marsh West.  I also just managed to catch the calls, which indicated we may have had 3 Black-tailed Godwits.  Sure enough when we reached the L-shaped hide 3 of these waders could be seen attempting to feed among the lethargic ducks in eclipse.

The other highlight in this hide was a large dragonfly, which eventually settled on some greener directly under one of the windows - it may have been a Southern Hawker. 

Black-tailed Godwit

 Southern Hawker?

 Meadow Brown

 Meadow Brown

 Small Skipper

 Burnet Moth

 Large White

 Gatekeeper

 Gatekeeper

We continued to see more and more insects as we travelled round the southern part of the site which reached its apotheosis among South Scrub, which was a blaze of colour and insect activity.   There were a few birds to see on Watton Borrow Pits, but no new waders.  We carried on round O reservoir, but then Ben and I had to leave, as we had toe back in Hull for 12.45, or we'd be for the high jump.  Of course the others had time to visit D Reservoir and observe 2 Black-necked Grebes.  This would have been a new bird for Ben!